Chapter 6 - The Steel Net
Marisol backed up against the metal filing cabinet, holding the leather manifest tightly against her chest. "The police know about the poison, Vance. You murdered Celeste, but you can't cover this up."
Victor laughed softly, a dry, mocking sound. "The local police do what I pay them to do, little girl. By tomorrow morning, this warehouse will burn to the ground, this manifest will be ashes, and your tragic little body will be found inside, caught in an unfortunate industrial accident."
"She won't be alone," a voice cold as ice echoed from the warehouse ceiling speakers.
Before Victor’s men could react, the glass skylights above exploded downward in a shower of sharp fragments. Marcus and three heavily armed private security operatives rappelled down on black steel cables, firing silenced non-lethal impact rounds with surgical precision.
Two of Vance's guards dropped instantly to the concrete floor.
Victor cursed, spinning around to fire his weapon, but Marisol reacted with lightning speed. She grabbed a heavy metal desk lamp and swung it with all her strength, smashing it across Victor’s arm. The pistol flew from his grip, skidding across the floor.
Victor roared in pain, lunging toward Marisol, but Adrienne Hawthorne stepped through the shattered side door, holding a heavy steel tactical baton. With one swift, practiced motion, Adrienne struck Victor across the chest, knocking the billionaire flat onto his back.
Marcus instantly dropped to his knees, pinning Victor’s arms behind him and snapping heavy steel handcuffs onto his wrists.
Victor spat blood onto the floor, glaring up at Adrienne. "You think this changes anything, Hawthorne?! My lawyers will have me out on bail before sunrise! You have no proof that holds up in federal court!"
Adrienne knelt beside his fallen rival, pulling the leather manifest from Marisol’s hands and holding it in front of Victor’s face.
"This manifest isn't just paper, Victor," Adrienne said quietly. "It has your thumbprint on the ink seal. And while you were busy trying to ambush Marisol, my cyber team just uploaded your entire offshore shell company ledger to the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
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Victor’s eyes widened in genuine, paralyzing horror. "You... you hacked my private server?"
"No," Adrienne smiled, looking over at Marisol with immense pride. "Marisol found the IP address listed on the bottom of this delivery receipt while she was searching the catering logs this afternoon. You lost the moment you decided to target an innocent family."
